Too Big to Fail [3]
Christopher J. Dodd, Senator (D-Connecticut), chairman of the Banking Committee
Barnett “Barney” Frank, Representative (D-Massachusetts), chairman of the Committee on Financial Services
Mitch McConnell, Senator (R-Kentucky), Republican leader of the Senate
Nancy Pelosi, Representative (D-California), Speaker of the House
Department of the Treasury
Michele A. Davis, assistant secretary, public affairs; director, policy planning
Kevin I. Fromer, assistant secretary, legislative affairs
Robert F. Hoyt, general counsel
Dan Jester, adviser to the secretary of the Treasury
Neel Kashkari, assistant secretary, international affairs
David H. McCormick, under secretary, international affairs
David G. Nason, assistant secretary, financial institutions
Jeremiah O. Norton, deputy assistant secretary, financial institutions policy
Henry M. “Hank” Paulson Jr., secretary of the Treasury
Anthony W. Ryan, assistant secretary, financial markets
Matthew Scogin, senior adviser to under secretary for domestic finance
Steven Shafran, adviser to Mr. Paulson
Robert K. Steel, under secretary, domestic finance
Phillip Swagel, assistant secretary, economic policy
James R. “Jim” Wilkinson, chief of staff
Kendrick R. Wilson III, adviser to the secretary of the Treasury
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
Sheila C. Bair, chairwoman
Federal Reserve
Scott G. Alvarez, general counsel
Ben S. Bernanke, chairman
Donald Kohn, vice chairman
Kevin M. Warsh, governor
Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Thomas C. Baxter Jr., general counsel
Terrence J. Checki, executive vice president
Christine M. Cumming, first vice president
William C. Dudley, executive vice president, Markets Group
Timothy F. Geithner, president
Calvin A. Mitchell III, executive vice president, communications
William L. Rutledge, senior vice president
Securities and Exchange Commission
Charles Christopher Cox, chairman
Michael A. Macchiaroli, associate director, Division of Trading and Markets
Erik R. Sirri, director, Division of Market Regulation
Linda Chatman Thomsen, director, Division of Enforcement
White House
Joshua B. Bolten, chief of staff, Office of the President
George W. Bush, president of the United States
Too Big to Fail
PROLOGUE
Standing in the kitchen of his Park Avenue apartment, Jamie Dimon poured himself a cup of coffee, hoping it might ease his headache. He was recovering from a slight hangover, but his head really hurt for a different reason: He knew too much.
It was just past 7:00 a.m. on the morning of Saturday, September 13, 2008. Dimon, the chief executive of JP Morgan Chase, the nation’s third-largest bank, had spent part of the prior evening at an emergency, all-hands-on-deck meeting at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York with a dozen of his rival Wall Street CEOs. Their assignment was to come up with a plan to save Lehman Brothers, the nation’s fourth-largest investment bank—or risk the collateral damage that might ensue in the markets.
To Dimon it was a terrifying predicament that caused his mind to spin as he rushed home afterward. He was already more than two hours late for a dinner party that his wife, Judy, was hosting. He was embarrassed by his delay because the dinner was for the parents of their daughter’s boyfriend, whom he was meeting for the first time.
“Honestly, I’m never this late,” he offered, hoping to elicit some sympathy. Trying to avoid saying more than he should, still he dropped some hints about what had happened at the meeting. “You know, I am not lying about how serious this situation is,” Dimon told his slightly alarmed guests as he mixed himself a martini. “You’re going to read about it tomorrow in the papers.”
As he promised, Saturday’s papers prominently featured the dramatic news to which he had alluded. Leaning against the kitchen counter, Dimon opened the Wall Street Journal and read the headline of its lead story: “Lehman Races Clock; Crisis Spreads.”
Dimon knew that Lehman Brothers might not make it through the weekend. JP Morgan had examined its books